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Lucy Letby trial: nurse said non-critical care was ‘boring’

A senior nurse has said that Lucy Letby, who is on trial for murder, was reluctant to work outside intensive care and high dependency settings
Photo of nurse Lucy Letby who is on trial: she is reported to have described caring for infants who did not require critical care as ‘boring’, her murder trial was told

A senior nurse has said that Lucy Letby, who is on trial for murder, was reluctant to work outside intensive care and high dependency settings

Photo of nurse Lucy Letby who is on trial: she is reported to have described caring for infants who did not require critical care as ‘boring’, her murder trial was told
Lucy Letby Picture: Shutterstock

Nurse Lucy Letby is reported to have described caring for infants who did not require critical care as ‘boring’, her murder trial was told.

Ms Letby is accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder ten others at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit.

Accused nurse was ‘unhappy’ when assigned shifts outside of critical care

She is said to have argued with a senior colleague when asked to work in an ‘outside nursery’ where babies were treated in preparation for going home.

The unit was split into four rooms – intensive care in nursery one, high dependency care in nursery two and the ‘outside nurseries’ of rooms three and four, Manchester Crown Court has heard.

On Tuesday, 21 March, senior nurse Kathryn Percival-Calderbank told the court that Ms Letby was ‘unhappy’ if she was allocated shifts in either room three or four.

‘She expressed that she was unhappy at being put in the outside nurseries. She said it was boring and she didn’t want to feed babies. She wanted to be in intensive care,’ she said.

Mrs Percival-Calderbank, who qualified as a nurse in 1988, added: ‘If anything was going on in nursery one you would find she would migrate there, as we would all do to go and help. She would definitely end up in nursery one to assist.

‘It was more that we were worried for Lucy’s mental health because it can be upsetting, emotional and sometimes exhausting at the end of a shift, if you’re constantly put in that stressful situation.

‘Sometimes you’ve got to come out of that environment and be in an outside nursery.’

She recalled an argument – some time before June 2016 – with Ms Letby who was ‘upset’ at a shift allocation.

‘Lucy went into the outside nursery but she was not happy with the decision,’ she said.

Lucy Letby was ‘particularly keen to assist’ in intensive care, says senior nurse

Ben Myers KC, defending, asked: ‘Is it right she made it plain that she preferred to work in the intensive care aspect of operations?”

‘Yes,’ replied Mrs Percival-Calderbank. Mr Myers said: ‘Did she use the word ‘boring’?’

The witness said: ‘Yes, that’s what she said.’

Mr Myers said: ‘There were times when she ended back in nursery one and everyone would be ready to help when there was an issue, wouldn’t they?’

‘Yes,’ said the witness.

Mrs Percival-Calderbank agreed with Mr Myers that Ms Letby would be ‘particularly keen to assist’ and ‘would be there very quickly if an issue arose’.

Ms Letby denies all the alleged offences which have been said to have been committed between June 2015 and June 2016. The trial continues.


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